Basic Japanese phrases

OK, so you've decided, that you'd
like to learn some of the most common and well-known phrases
in Japanese. Or you already know some words, but are not quite
sure about their meaning. This is the right section for you.

Greetings

English

Romaji

Kana

ｎice
to meet you

hajime
mash'te

はじめまして

good
morning

ohayoo
(gozaimas')

おはようございます

good
afternoon

konnichiwa

こんにちは

good
evening

konbanwa

こんばんは

good
night

oyasumi
(nasai)

おやすみなさい

see
you

jaa

じゃあ

goodbye

sayonara

さようなら

In the phrase "hajime mashite" the
second "i" is not pronounced. In "ohayoo gozaimasu" the "u" is
not pronounced. In general, when "su" is at the
end of a word, "u" is never pronounced. The double "o" in "ohayoo" stands
for prolongation of the sound, like in "door" in
english. The words in brackets can be omitted.